Trees for July

I love trees.  Actually, I have a thing for them. As a young girl, I spent summers at my Dad's ranch in Calaveras County with not a whole lot of distraction aside from the occasional rattlesnake, my radio and John Travolta poster.  Daily, just before dusk, Dad and I would go for a walk. We spent time gazing upon and talking about a massive oak or the pine trees that speckled the landscape. Maybe it was Dad's appreciation of trees that was passed to me. 

Years later, I find myself snapping photos of trees while traveling and drawing endless pictures of them as I doodle. I love that trees are deeply planted in the dark earth where they find nurturance. Their trunks are imprinted with living conditions and leaves showered with the heavens.

Trees in Burbank.



Trees at a Finnish War Memorial in Karelia. 

Trees in Russia. Where are we?



More trees in Russia.

Trees at the border. Oh, wait, that's my baby!

July is my month for virtual quilting bee Sewn Together so I need to send packages to all bee members with instructions for a project. I was ready to find someone to swap months with me since I couldn't think of a project. I also made a vow to stay away from the fabric stores for a month while participating in Stashtacular so I need a stash busting project.

Fortunately, I'm busy with Adam. And all of the madness that has plagued my mind the past few months focused my thinking around what is really important to me. Upon reflection, I found myself in tree mode, drawing and planning tree pillows or sewing machine covers. So I decided for July to ask Sewn Together to make trees for me. I posted a few inspirational photos for them on Flickr but I'm leaving creative control in their hands.

(This photo is of one of my first projects where I didn't follow a pattern. It was scary branching out on my own. I've learned a bit since then and I really enjoy learning from mistakes.)

I'm real excited about this project. I'll keep you posted as the blocks roll back to me.

Cheers to a beautiful day!